300 Homes, Buildings Damaged by Tornadoes in Louisiana
Though tornadoes were reported in Arkansas, Lousiana and Texas over the Easter weekend, in the South Central region, northern Louisiana bore the brunt of the storm system that swept across the South on Sunday.
The weather service reported multiple tornadoes and damaging winds over much of northern Louisiana.
The mayor of Monroe, Louisiana, Jamie Mayo, told KNOE-TV that the storm damaged 200-300 homes in and around the city. Flights were canceled at Monroe Regional Airport, where siding was ripped off buildings and debris was scattered on runways. Airport director Ron Phillips told the News-Star the storm caused up to $30 million in damage to planes inside a hangar.
In northwest Louisiana, officials reported damage to dozens of homes in DeSoto and Webster parishes, according to news outlets.
At least 19 people were reported killed by the severe weather system as it moved across the South.
Eleven people were killed in Mississippi, and six more died in northwest Georgia. Two other bodies were pulled from damaged homes in Arkansas and South Carolina.
The storms blew onward through the night, causing flooding and mudslides in mountainous areas, and knocking out electricity for about 750,000 customers in a 10-state swath ranging from Texas to Georgia up to West Virginia.
In Arkansas, one person was killed when a tree fell on a home in White Hall, southeast of Little Rock, the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management said.